taylorhathcock's reviews
443 reviews

I'm terrible I waited so long to finish this part of KOC but the thing I adore about this series is... even if you forget something JJ manages to use a part of the story to catch you up on important plot points. I really enjoyed reading this one. Evie is probably one of my favorite female characters. In this one Evie really experiences some profund changes but also manages to stay herself. I love that this one gives us so much of the Evie and Jax romance... and so many spicy moments to go with it. Nothing like steamy moments and elemental magic to make things interesting. I will say that I felt like we hardly got anything about Jude and Lucas in this one and instead got a lot more of Jax's brothers and the found family dynamic that exists between them and Evie. I have to admit this one threw some stuff in at the end that decided to play with the emotions and I was not a fan... I didn't need the emotional trauma, but I loved it. So basically read this series... but hold out news has it JJ will be releasing the first 3 soon. 

 I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I haven't read Meghan Quinn before this but it was an amazing surprise. I really loved all the humor that was throughout the book and the banter between Storee and Cole was everything I needed in life. The book has some serious moments but for the most part it just makes you laugh. I loved that they were enemies at first because of how it enhanced the banter and made the slow burn so much more enjoyable. I loved that we had a fake dating turned real dating but still fake dating dynamic going. It helped add to the layers of mayhem in the story. The Christmas competition the town holds which Cole and Storee are trying to win really added a whole extra layer of fun and chaos. 

 I have to admit that the spice took me by surprise. I did not see that level of spice for such a cutesy looking and feeling book. However, oh boy did it deliver. I could have done without the candy cane, but I mean at least it was festive. I honestly died at the number of times this book mentioned someones nips. It was so unexpected but each time made me die laughing. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed considering the pacing of the rest of the book and I also think it could have been a bit shorter but overall it was a fun and enjoyable Christmas read.

I loved the first book in this series but then the second one lost me a bit... However, I am so glad I didn't give up because this one delievered. Sunny might be my absolute favorite character in the entire group. She's so relatable and lovable. I loved the dynamic between her and Issac. Issac is very broody because he's convinced he can't enjoy life with his wife gone... but he finds himself enjoying Sunny and her presence. I think the book has amazing banter between the two of them. They have this fun dynamic that I enjoyed. I loved the different ways humor was thrown into the story because I'm not going to lie at times it got pretty deep and sad. Sunny is on the hunt for a local legend... a whole story in itself and one I'd be game to read... and Issac is on the hunt for a muse to finish his final album and when the two team up nothing seems impossible. I love Sunny and Issac and that romance and all the obstacles they have to overcome, but the real MVP of the Christmas Notch books is Teddy. I feel like in this one we got more of a focus on him which I loved he adds so much humor to the stories. I loved the way we brought all our favorite characters into this one. I think this one made up for all the spice that felt missing from the second one. It gave us a lot of interesting storylines while also giving the spicy moments that were absolutely needed. We also get the comic relief of the world's most demonic cat. I think this is for sure a must read for the holiday season. 

I decided to give this series another shot because I didn't absolutely dislike the 1st one. However, I think this one made it pretty clear to me that this isn't the series for me. I struggle sometimes with the author's writing style. I really had a hard time enjoying this one because for most of the story the age gap is between a 17 year old and an almost 30 year old so it just felt kind of ick. I think what made it worse was all the times we had to hear conversations about Mia between Jackson and his friends. I honestly spent a lot of time cringing in this one. It didn't get much better once Mia turned 18 for me to be honest. I really struggled with how we got a huge personality shift in Jackson the minute she becomes 18, and how suddenly we are supposed to accept this romance that just comes out of nowhere and feels completely rushed. I don't know I just really didn't find much to enjoy about the romance. The suspense part was interesting but also felt a bit rushed because of how little it was focused on. I think I just wanted more the whole time.

What did I read? I have no idea. I did love the beautiful illustrations though. 

I mean I don't even know where to start. I was on the fence with this one. I mean the summary intrigued me but I wasn't sure I wanted another series. I started this one and it didn't take long before I was hooked. It has a variety of characters and they all have such mysterious backstories. I love how the author gives us bits and pieces of their stories in such dramatic reveals. The chapters are short but the way most of them had me on the edge of my seat. It's a good thing I was alone while reading this one since I did a lot of out loud commentary. It's been a long time since I yelled at a book, but this one gave me so many beautiful reasons to do so. I've fallen in love with all of the characters and the different dynamics between them. I love the found family aspect with the band of misfits with some incredible skill sets. 

 I mean who doesn't love a good high stakes adventure that also may or may not have a touch of treason involved. The plotting, the high jinks, the sudden need to shift plans and all the things that can go oh so wrong and oh so right. I mean the book has it all not to mention it has romance, 3 to be exact. We get ex lovers, we get enemies to lovers and we get a bodyguard romance. I mean it's everything. We have characters with intense motivations to survive and to do whatever it takes. We have lives on the line. The secrets and lies that get uncovered and even the ones still to be uncovered. I just... I mean what can I say. It's perfect. It's exactly what I didn't know I needed. I'm hooked and I don't know that I can wait for the next one much longer. 

Wicked. Oh Wicked... I'm going to be 100% honest, I had no idea what I was getting into here. I absolutely adore the musical by extension now the movie. I've heard people talk about how different the book is and so I wanted to find out. The two are worlds apart and I honestly love that. The book is very not child friendly and had some moments (looking at you puppets.... and you tiger) that made me question why and what I was reading. However, I actually really enjoyed the story. I think the book does an amazing job of highlighting so many issues that impact a society. We get a look at politics, race, social class, religion, gender and a myriad of other things. The author does a fabulous job of showcasing these issues while presenting a story of a green girl who constantly has her intentions misjudged. 

 I am all about retellings and villain origin stories and I think this one is perfect because Elphie really has a good heart even if she's learned to hide herself behind sarcasm to survive in a world that judges her. She quickly picks up the plight of the disenfranchised in Oz and from then on everything just goes awry. I love that we get a different understanding of events from The Wizard of Oz that make you have to examine who the real villain actually is. I think that despite some of the weird and extreme and hidden behind a lot of wordy passages at times the book really has a deep message that can be applied to society today. 

I want to start out by saying that this book felt like a YA version of Phantasma. I think this book showed a lot of promise if it had focused on the game aspect a little more. We have Lo and Mayté two friends who are basically like sisters despite the way Mayté's family has fallen in stature. The two made a pact to go to Fortune's Kiss if it ever returned and naturally when it does they make plans to go. However, the stakes are raised for their need to enter the contest before they actually leave when dramatic life changing events happen to both of them. Each girl has a drastically different goal in joining the game but both are determined to walk out winners together. 

 The game becomes a bit more violent than they anticipated which they learn on the first day. The two then decide they need to work on a better strategy to survive which includes each of them flirting answers out of workers. The longer the two are in the game the more they encounter obstacles to their goals and even their friendship. The romance element of the book is very light in my opinion. I also felt like the big reveals were just a bit too convenient to excuse parts of the plot. I think the parts with the game were the most interesting about the book and even some of the talks about the magic of the house and I wish that had been more of a focus.

This book picks up immediately where the first book left off and I have to say it is pretty action packed. A lot happens in this one plot wise but we also still manage to get a good bit of steamy moments taking place. I think this one tries a bit more to include some of the Norse mythology elements, but unforntuately I think at times it kind of causes the story to get lost a bit. I love the inclusions don't get me wrong... I just think sometimes the author has a bit of a nerd out about them and forgets she's telling the other story. I enjoyed that in this one we are getting to see the characters grow more. I think it was also amazing to see the different ways that the romantic relationships are shifting but also the way the clan dynamic is shifting with them growing closer. 

 I loved that a lot happened in this book but I think at times so much was happening that we didn't get to truly enjoy some of the moments. The pacing felt a bit rushed on some elements especially after a reveal that likely could have used some more explaining. I do think this one throws a lot of big reveals at us. We learn a bit more about what has been going on with the pack this entire time, we learn more about who Ylva is, which I wish was more detailed, and we learn a little bit more about individual characters. I really don't say this often but at times I wish the storyline was slowed down some so we could explore elements that are getting introduced. However, I am looking forward to the next book in the series because I really want to know how things play out for this group. 

If I am being completely honest 3 stars feels generous for this one. I decided to read it because I kept seeing how the content was so terrible it had been banned as an ebook or whatever. The book wasn't that bad. I mean it has some gross elements and some dark moments... We have two captors and their captives, we have SA, we have violence, and just gross situations... but like for the most part it was just incredibly boring. I don't think the writing was all that great. It was so focused on trying to have the smutty scenes, which for the most part where just uncomfortable that it didn't truly try to make a story. The romance that develops is 100% just Stockholm Syndrome and Alex is obsessed with Ophelia because she reminds him of his mother. I really just struggled to find anything to like about this story.